HOLIDAY COOKIES

HOLIDAY COOKIES

How To Roll and Cut Out Flawless Sugar Cookies

Versatile sugar cookie dough is like edible modeling clay. It can be simply rolled into balls and baked, likeSnickerdoodles, but when you want to take it further and cut it into shapes, likeThe Best Rolled Sugar Cookies, these tips will help your sugar cookie cut-outs turn out beautifully every time.

Photo by Allrecipes

Rolling and Cutting Sugar Cookie Dough

It can be challenging to keep sugar cookie shapes from losing their definition somewhere between cutting them out and transferring them to a baking sheet with a spatula. Try this method instead:

1. Roll and Chill

Photo by Meredith

Set a 1½- to 2-cup portion of dough between two sheets of parchment paper. To keep the parchment from sliding, tape the bottom sheet to the counter, or lean in and use your body to pin both layers against the counter edge. Parchment keeps dough from sticking to your rolling pin and countertop without added flour. It also makes it easier to transport dough to the fridge for chilling.

Using a rolling pin and rolling away from your body, roll dough out to an oblong shape no bigger than your cookie sheet, lifting and replacing the top sheet of parchment as needed to remove creases.

As the dough approaches ideal thickness (a scant ¼ inch works well for most cookies), flank it with two wooden slats of equal thickness (paint stirrers work well) on top of the top parchment sheet, and roll pin over dough until pin edges rest on both slats. The goal is evenly thick dough—without thin spots that cause uneven baking and fractures.

Slide parchment onto an unrimmed cookie sheet and chill the dough until very firm, at least 30 minutes, before cutting. Roll remaining dough in same manner and keep in the fridge until you are ready to cut it. Chilled dough cuts more precisely, clings less to cutters, and retains its shape better during baking.

2. Cut and Peel

Photo by Meredith

Transfer chilled dough to a work surface and peel off top parchment sheet. Now you're ready to cut out shapes.

Cookie cutterscome in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. If you're new at cut-outs, stick with simple shapes until you get comfortable with them. Remember, the more elaborate the shape, the trickier it is to work with. Dip a cookie cutter in flour, set it on the dough, and press the cutter straight down with your palm, rocking your palm slightly to ensure you cut all the way through the dough. Lift the cutter straight up. Repeat, dipping the cutter in flour before each cut, working quickly so dough stays cold, and spacing cuts as you’d like cookies arranged on sheet, 1 to 2 inches apart.

Slide parchment with cutouts onto the cookie sheet. Since you're not lifting individual shapes with a spatula, that means no squishing, stretching, or tearing en route to the sheet.

Pat the excess dough scraps back into an oblong shape, then roll, chill, and cut again.

3. Bake and Cool

Photo by Meredith

After baking, slide each batch onto cooling racks, parchment paper and all. When the cookies have cooled and firmed up for a few minutes, you can slide the cookies off the parchment to finish cooling directly on the rack. Parchment paper can be reused for several batches of cookies.

If you're baking in batches, cool your baking sheet before loading it with fresh cookie dough. For efficient production-line baking, consider using several baking sheets so one can be in the oven, one can be loaded up with the next batch of cookies, and one can be cooling off before being loaded up again.

Share the Love

You've baked and decorated all those sugar cookies, and now it's time to get them out in front of an appreciative audience. Get your like-minded baking friends together for acookie exchange party, or maybe you'd like tomail cookiesto out-of-town family and friends.

Related

Find asugar cookie recipethat's just right for you. In fact, you can take a basic sugar cookie dough and transform it into several different kinds of cookies by adding flavors, colors, shapes, and decorations.

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